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MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Saturday, August 28, 2010) – In a game featuring the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year and an unbeaten starter, you would expect a low-scoring affair. That was not the case on Saturday at Merchantsauto.com Stadium as Blake Maxwell and the Portland Sea Dogs out dueled the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 5-2.

Maxwell remained unblemished at Double-A this season, allowing five hits and two runs over 5.2 innings.

Both pitchers got off to strong starts in the first inning as Drabek threw a 1-2-3 first inning for the Fisher Cats, while Maxwell got out of the first on just one hit. New Hampshire shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria lined a single off the glove of third baseman Ray Chang for a one-out single.

Drabek allowed a leadoff walk to designated hitter Ryan Lavarnway, but settled in and a flyout and a double play ball by catcher Luis Exposito to end the threat. Maxwell allowed just a two-out walk to left fielder Callix Crabbe in the bottom of the second.

In the third, Portland left fielder Jorge Padron singled to center and the two runners were cut down behind Drabek, the recently named Eastern League Pitcher of the Year, to end the inning. Maxwell worked around a single to Hechavarria and hitting right fielder Adam Calderone as he got a little help from his defense in the bottom of the third. Right fielder Chih-Hsien Chiang made a great play, running at least ten feet to his left to track down a sure hit from center fielder Darin Mastroianni for the second out.

Drabek retired the top three batters in Portland’s order to begin the fifth inning, including striking out two of the Red Sox’ top young prospects: shortstop Jose Iglesias and first baseman Anthony Rizzo to end the inning. Catcher Matt Liuzza hit a one-out single, but was caught stealing on an inning-ending strikeout double play.

The first sign of trouble for the Fisher Cats came in the top of the fifth inning when Drabek walked the first two batters of the inning, Lavarnway and Chang, before inducing another double play ball to Exposito. With two out, Padron walked and center fielder Che-Hsuan Lin struck out to end the threat. Maxwell came back with a very brisk 1-2-3 inning on two groundouts and a strikeout.

Drabek had some constructive criticism for his game, saying “It’s no fun walking people, so it could have been a lot better and I’ll have to work on it.”

David Purcey came in to relieve Drabek after five, one-hit innings. Purcey is currently on a rehab assignment from Toronto and has been sidelined since August 12 with a sprained right foot.

Things unraveled for the Fisher Cats in the sixth inning as they scored four runs off relievers Purcey and Trystan Magnuson. Purcey loaded the bases with two outs on singles by Chiang and second baseman Nate Spears and a walk to Lavarnway. Chiang and Spears scored on a two-run single to right field by Chang, while Exposito drove in two on a single to left field. Padron ended the inning with a fielder’s choice.

Maxwell came into the sixth inning with a large cushion behind him and struggled as well. After striking out Hechavarria, he allowed a single to Calderone and then he came around to score on a two-run home run to right-center field (20) by first baseman David Cooper. Manager Arnie Beyeler booted him with two outs in the inning after 5.2 innings. Eammon Portice came in and struck out catcher Matt Liuzza to end the inning.

Radio voice Bob Lipman noted to reporters in the press box that with Cooper’s 20th home run, the Fisher Cats have three 20-home run hitters for the first time in franchise history (joining outfielder Eric Thames and infielder Shawn Bowman).

Portland came back with another run in the seventh inning on a Nate Spears one-out RBI double to left field. Chiang, who singled, came home to score on the play. Fisher Cats left fielder Callix Crabbe robbed another hit and run from Rizzo on a diving catch to end the inning. Portice came back on to pitch for the ‘Dogs, allowing a one-out single to second baseman Jonathan Diaz and a two-out knock to Mastroianni.

Magnuson came back in to retire the heart of the Sea Dog lineup on a groundout, flyout, and strikeout. Portice came back with a 1-2-3 inning of his own, recording flyout between two whiffs.

Alan Farina came in to pitch the ninth for the Fisher Cats and induced groundouts to the bottom of the Portland order, each to a different infield position. Daniel Turpen relieved Portice and earned his first save of the season, retiring the first three batters he faced.

During the game, the Fisher Cats clinched a playoff spot as Reading lost their game against Binghamton. “They’ve played hard all year,” said manager Luis Rivera. “We’ll celebrate when we win and when the time is right.”

The game was played in front of a crowd of 8,476 fans, which ranks third all-time in Fisher Cats history. A John Smoltz rehab in May 2009 and the 2008 Eastern League All-Star Game hold the top two slots in franchise records.

Greetings from Merchantsauto.com Stadium, where the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (TOR) are set to take on the Portland Sea Dogs in the third game of a four-game series. We posted a full preview earlier today.

The Sea Dogs just sent out a press release detailing a roster move that activated Che-Hsuan Lin from the disabled list.

Tonight the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (TOR) host the Portland Sea Dogs in the third game of a four-game Eastern League series at Merchantsauto.com Stadium. The Fisher Cats hold a 7-6 advantage in the season series, which concludes next week. The ‘Dogs evened the series with a 5-1 win last night, thanks in large part to a three-run home run by designated hitter Ryan Lavarnway in the sixth inning.

New Hampshire is just 1.5 games behind Trenton (NYY) for the Eastern Division lead with a 75-56 record. With a win tonight, the Fisher Cats can clinch their playoff spot and win at least the Wild Card title. Portland is out of the playoff race with a 62-69 record, fifth place in the division and 14.5 games back. They trail fourth-place Binghamton (NYM) by a half-game and third-place Reading by 2.5 games in the standings.

Eastern League Pitcher of the Year Kyle Drabek makes the start tonight for the Fisher Cats. He is 14-9 with a 2.98 ERA in 25 starts this season and is just two wins away from tying the franchise record for wins in a single-season. The initial record was set in 2004 by Gustavo Chacin. It is worth noting that he pitched the only no-hitter in the Eastern League this season on July 4 against New Britian.

Blake Maxwell will take the hill for the Sea Dogs tonight, with a perfect 5-0 record and 2.19 ERA in nine apperances (five starts) at Double-A. He began the season as a reliever at Advanced-A Salem (4-1, 2.66 in 24 games), while also throwing seven innings at Triple-A Pawtucket.

Get a quick lodown of everything you need to know for the game with this quick audio podcast.

Sea Dogs starter Casey Kelly is done pitching for the season because of a lat muscle strain.

“It’s nothing overly-serious,” said Mike Hazen, Red Sox Director of Player Development. “The challenge with it is the time of the year. Had it been a different time of the year, we would have moved this on a little quicker.

“We’re not going to rush him back to get one more start in Portland.

“We’ll try to focus now on the instructional league the and fall league to build up the last 20-plus, 30 innings we were hoping to get out of him.”

Kelly, 20, in his first full season as a professional pitcher, threw 95 innings for the Sea Dogs, recording a 3-5 record and 5.31 ERA.

Hazen said Kelly’s injury is similar to the one experienced by Daniel Bard when he was with the Sea Dogs at the end of the 2008 season. It hardly slowed Bard.

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Satruday, May 15, 2010) – The New Hampshire Fisher Cats used a strong pitching performance by Kyle Drabek to win their fifth straight game, 5-0, against the Portland Sea Dogs at Merchantsauto.com Stadium on Saturday night.

Drabek allowed six hits over seven scoreless innings en route to his staff-leading fifth win. The game marked the first shutout of the season by a Cats starter.

It was a pitcher’s duel between Drabek and Casey Kelly, the second-best prospect in the Red Sox system as both teams were held to just three hits through the first four innings.

Drabek is no slouch either as he was one of three players traded to Toronto from Philadelphia in exchange for Roy Halladay and was named the 2009 Paul Owens Award winner, given to the top pitcher in the Phillies organization.

New Hampshire took the lead in the third inning on an RBI single to center field by designated hitter Adam Calderone, scoring shortstop Jonathan Diaz.

Casey Kelly exited after 4.2 innings, allowing just two hits and an earned run, while walking a season-high three and striking out six.

He was relieved by Tommy Hottovy, who allowed a solo home run to his first batter, Adam Calderone. The dinger cleared the wall in right-center field and was his sixth of the season.

The Fisher Cats put the game out of reach with three runs in the seventh on an RBI single by Adam Calderone and a two-run double by second baseman Brad Emaus. Portland left fielder Chih-Hsien Chiang threw out his counterpart Eric Thames at third base to save another run.

Hottovy allowed five hits and four runs over 1.2 innings, but Kelly took the loss. Bryce Cox also came out of the Portland ‘pen and allowed just two hits over 1.2 innings.

Trystan Magnuson was the only Fisher Cat pitcher from the bullpen, yielding two hits and two walks over two innings, while fanning two.

The division rivals close the series in the Queen City on Sunday afternoon as Stephen Fife faces Randy Boone.

Jose Iglesias collected two hits for the Sea Dogs in his professional debut. (AP)

Both the Pawtucket Red Sox and Portland Sea Dogs jumped out to fast starts to begin the 2010 season, as the PawSox stymied Rochester (Twins), 11-3, while Portland doubled up Reading (Phillies), 10-5.

Pawtucket newcomer Darnell McDonald went a game-high 4-for-5, with two runs scored and five RBI. Tug Hulett also made a stellar first impression, going 3-for-5, with two runs scored and three RBI. Both McDonald and Hulett posted home runs in the contest.

Boof Bonser tossed 4.1 innings as the PawSox starter, allowing six hits and three earned runs, while walking two and fanning four. The win went to Joe Nelson, who allowed two hits in two-thirds of an inning relieving Bonser. Alan Embree also pitched an inning, in which he allowed just a walk.

Four Sea Dogs mustered multiple-hit games, including Che-Hsien Lin and Luis Exposito, who drove in four and three runs, respectively. Ryan Kalish homered to lead off the season, while Jose Iglesias went 2-for-4 and scored two runs in his professional debut. Felix Doubront had a quality opening start, as he tossed a handful of innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs.

Down in Single-A, Greenville edged Delmarva, 5-3, at Flour Field, while Salem led Potomac after an inning, but the game was suspended due to rain.